Personal woes affecting Henry

Barcelona striker Thierry Henry has said personal problems have hampered his ability to adapt to life at his new club. The 30-year-old French striker divorced from his wife last year shortly after his tran-sfer from Arsenal, and does not see his daughter as much as he would like. “A father that only sees his daughter five times in the last eight months can’t be happy,” he said.

‘Ric’s contract not finalised yet’

Indian Hockey Federation president KPS GIll said there was no controversy surrounding technical advisor Ric Charlesworth, who did not accompany the team to Chile, reports PTI from New Delhi.
“There is no controversy at all,” he said on Thursday.

Charlesworth, the former Australia skipper, had accused chief coach Joaquim Carvalho of scuttling his trip to Santiago as he did not want him anywhere near the team.

Gill, however, had a different explanation for Charlesworth’s no-show in Chile. “He did not go to Chile because his contract has not yet been finalised. The moment everything is finalised, his role would be put in black and white,” he said.

Aiyar denies rift with Kalmadi

Sports Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar on Thursday denied having any differences with the Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi and said preparations were on track for hosting Commonwealth Games in national capital in 2010, reports PTI from New Delhi.

Pull-out will not affect Games: IOC

Haile Gebrselassie's withdrawal this week from the Beijing Olympics marathon was fully justified but will otherwise have no effect on the Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Thursday, reports Reuters from Athens.

"This was a personal choice and no one can force him to run the event," IOC vice-president Lambis Nikolaou said.
"Considering his condition (asthma) it is totally justified but it will not have any effect on the Games themselves."
"We must not forget that IOC members knowingly awarded the Games to Beijing but with the condition that the Chinese take measures and they have taken measures," Nikolaou added.

Burdett for bowling wickets

Les Burdett, the curator of Adelaide Oval, said the wickets for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) matches would not be totally batting friendly but have something for bowlers as well, reports PTI from Jaipur.
Talking to PTI during his visit to Jaipur, where seven matches will be held, Burdett said “we want wickets of uniform nature. We don’t want a batsman getting out due to bad bounce but also do not wish a bowler should suffer because of flat track.”

Moiseyeva fails drugs test

Russian biathlete Tatyana Moiseyeva failed a drugs test at last month's World Championships in Sweden, local media quoted officials as saying on Thursday, reports Reuters from Moscow.

News agency Allsport, citing Russian biathlon officials, reported that Moiseyeva's ‘A’ sample had tested positive for a prohibitive substance following an individual 15-km race on February 13 in Ostersund.

Mahmood, Nazir star for Badshahs

A devastating spell by Azhar Mahmood (5/13) and a fine batting show by opener Imran Nazir (62 n.o.) helped Lahore Badshahs trounce Hyderabad Heroes by nine wickets in the ICL’s Twenty20 tournament at Panchkula on Thursday, reports PTI.

Brief scores:

Hyderabad Heroes: 86 all out (N Boje 39; A Mahmood 5-13, Rana Naved 2-19) lt to Lahore Badshahs: 90/1 in 9.4 overs (Imran Nazir 62 n.o.).

IPL will be a  challenge: VVS

Stylish middle-order batsman VVS Laxman on Thursday said he wanted to get back to the Indian one-day squad but wasn’t sure whether the selectors would judge his performance in the IPL to book his place in the shorter version of the game, reports PTI from Mumbai.

“I am not sure whether the performance in the IPL will help me get back to the one-day team. It will be a good challenge playing in the IPL,” Laxman said.